New Era in College Football Begins

[Stallion]

UT creates Longhorn Network by signing with ESPN for 300 Million over 20 years. This will have all kinds of long term implications for the future of conference alignment and TV contracts

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/arti ... 965493.php

[lwjr]

Stallion,

Have you heard when this takes effect? What does it mean to the Big12-2 TV deal?

[Stallion]

This article answers a bunch of questions but it starts immediately and is in addition to the Big 12 Contracts with ESPN/ABC and Fox

http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/ ... milli.html


BTW Jerry Gray was hired as UT's Assistant Head Coach. Does Jeremy Gray follow him to UT?

[smupony94]

Unlike Kate, Ralph will talk to me

http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/highereducation/entries/2011/01/19/ut_espn_reach_20year_300_milli.html

[lwjr]

This article answers a bunch of questions but it starts immediately and is in addition to the Big 12 Contracts with ESPN/ABC and Fox

http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/ ... milli.html


BTW Jerry Gray was hired as UT's Assistant Head Coach. Does Jeremy Gray follow him to UT?

Thanks for the link and info. An intresting tidbit, when Orsini and JJ were in Midland three years ago, Orsisni made the comment in five to seven years the college football landscape will look nothing like it does now(2008).

[smupony94]

Yep, Orsini is like Nostradamus

[Stallion]

it will be interesting whether we will even consider them TV Networks or Internet Networks in a decade-isn't that where we are going. Streaming Digital makes cable TV concept obsolete in future? Should be good as long as we can lose the snakecharmer and apocalyse predictor channels that clutter TV today.

[StallionsModelT]

The college game is becoming more and more like the NFL. Traditional rivaries, geography, etc. are no longer important. It will be interesting where SMU positions itself amidst all this.

[lwjr]

it will be interesting whether we will even consider them TV Networks or Internet Networks in a decade-isn't that where we are going. Streaming Digital makes cable TV concept obsolete in future? Should be good as long as we can lose the snakecharmer and apocalyse predictor channels that clutter TV today.

Good point, look at how many sporting events are available to watch on-line now. I always thought eventually all sporting events, professional and college, would be available thru some type of pay per view concept. I thought it was going to happening five years ago, shows you how much I know. Very little!

[mustangbill67]

This article answers a bunch of questions but it starts immediately and is in addition to the Big 12 Contracts with ESPN/ABC and Fox

http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/ ... milli.html


BTW Jerry Gray was hired as UT's Assistant Head Coach. Does Jeremy Gray follow him to UT?

Was Jeremy Gray hurt last year? He redshirted in 2009 but I do not believe he played at all in 2010.

[couch 'em]

Should be good as long as we can lose the snakecharmer and apocalyse predictor channels that clutter TV today.

I'd gladly keep an intelligent design channel if it ment destroying the oprah channel

[LVPony]

The death kneel for the Big XXII -II. The North didn't like Texas throwing its weight (i.e. money) around from the start, this will be unbearable.

[Peruna_Ate_My_Rolex]

Should be good as long as we can lose the snakecharmer and apocalyse predictor channels that clutter TV today.

I'd gladly keep an intelligent design channel if it ment destroying the oprah channel

Does Mrs. Couch 'Em change the channel to the Oprah Channel when you're not looking?

[RE Tycoon]

Couple of things:

- 50-100 positions just for the network? Is that more than our entire athletic department?

- This deal is not about getting to broadcast one football game a year and a few men's bball games. As Stallion hinted, this is the first domino to fall in what will be the new model in college football, and maybe all of sports. If you think ESPN paid $300 million, plus (total guess here) an additional $200 million+ over the life of the contract for salaries, facilities, equipment, etc., to broadcast concerts and girls softball, then you are mistaken.

I think this foreshadows UT going independent. This is serious money and I'd be interested to see this contract when it becomes public to see if it has escalators in the case that UT goes independent and ESPN gets all of their multimedia rights.

At the very least I look for UT to gain control of their multimedia rights (no longer just TV) when the Big 12 TV contract comes up in a few years. This is too much money for the deal as currently structured.

[Pony81]

Gravity is taking effect.

UT and A&M bailed on the SWC because they got tired of carrying the other members.

The Big XII was more lucrative but at the end of the day the traditional powers Neb, UT, OU & A&M still provided the bulk of the revenue and TV sex appeal.

So, the day of the mega independent is here. It will be a slow process but eventually the top football programs ( in terms of fan interest) will go independent. The money is too big. State budgets are too tight.

As one poster put it "Starting to look like the NFL". Very true.

Programs like SMU are bystanders but the result will be a more exciting, regional product at Ford. BU, TTU, OSU, will be regulars at Ford.